Industrial
Estates Find New Ways to Handle Waste
Get Cash from Your Trash

Industrial
Estates Find New Ways to Handle Waste

What
do we do with our industrial waste? Can we find a viable market for
it? Is there a listing where we can advertise our by-products for
sale or alternative disposal?

Such
queries were raised in an awareness seminar for industrial estates
on alternative waste management. The seminar series entitled Industrial
Ecology and the Business of By-Product Exchange Within and Among Industrial
Estates, were held in August and were given to locator companies of
Carmelray Industrial Park, Lima Technology Center, Light Industry
and Science Park (LISP), and Laguna International Industrial Park
(LIIP).

Concepts
of industrial ecology and its tools like by-product exchange were
discussed and served as catalysts for the estates to look for more
viable ways of disposing their waste. Industrial ecology is an emerging
approach that looks at the entire systems of industrial processes
and modifies them such that waste is minimized and resources are optimized.
One way of applying industrial ecology is through by-product exchange.
Here, a locator company can either sell or give for free its "waste"
or by-product to another company needing it as raw material or substitute.

During
the seminar, the locator companies were asked to fill out a survey
form on their materials, water, and energy usage as well as the by-product
they generate. The consolidated data would become the basis of possible
matches where companies can either directly exchange by-products or
find a market for these. The possible exchanges would not be limited
to locators inside one estate only. If the exchange would prove viable
for two companies in different estates, then a bilateral deal could
be struck. Independent buyers not located in an industrial estate
might also get into a deal with another company so long as the exchange
would remain economically viable.

Seminar
participants also raised questions on how they could go about regulations
posed by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA). Certain regulations
might hamper the exchange, like transport of waste from one site to
another. Here, a new set of modified policies might be needed to facilitate
the exchange without violating existing rules.

Joining
in the seminar was a local expert on industrial ecology, Dr. Antonio
Alcantara, professor at the School of Environmental Science and Management
(SESAM) at the University of the Philippines in Los Banos. Also sharing
their experiences in the awareness seminars are Cecil Corloncito of
Aquagem Environmental Consultants; Redd Asprer, estate manager of
Lima Technology Center; Rosalito Dominguez, assistant vice president
for operations at LISP; Edil Mendoza, assistant manager for environment,
LISP; Gil Abaquin, estate administrator for LIIP; Nissa Suarez, PEZA
manager for LIIP; and Rommel Alviar, pollution control officer of
Carmelray.

The
seminar series was conduced by the Industrial Ecology Module of the
PRIME Project. PRIME or Private Sector Participation in Managing the
Environment is a project of the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) and is implemented by the Board of Investments, Department
of Trade and Industry (BOI-DTI).

Get
Cash from Your Trash

Yes,
there is money in industrial waste.

Many
companies do not realize that the by-products generated from their
production processes have market value. Some industrial by-products
can be sold to another firm needing it as a raw material or a substitute.
Compatible industries could exchange their by-products and eventually
strike a business deal. Instead of directly disposing waste, these
by-products can be re-used or re-processed by another firm.

Such
is the concept of by-product exchange. In a by-product exchange, the
inter-plant collaboration generally improves the environmental and
economic performance of the companies involved, both individually
and collectively. Companies tend to gain savings from disposal costs.
This transaction also helps firms avoid future liabilities that may
arise from improper waste handling. Further, the company buying the
by-product reduces its use of virgin materials. The one selling the
by-product, in turn, reduces pollution.

A
by-product exchange (BPX) can take place 1) between two or more companies
within an industrial estate (proximity is an advantage when it comes
to by-product transport), 2) between or among industrial estates,
2) between a locator in an estate and another not confined within
an estate (outside participant), 3) between or among outside participants,
or 4) regional. So long as the transaction is deemed viable and economical,
and the processes of doing so do not violate any estate laws or national
environmental regulations, then by-product exchange is possible.